Hide and Seek
by Wario-Girl
Summary: "It isn't a game anymore. It never was…" Fallen onto a mysterious planet, Rina discovers why she was never accepted to the Human Race. -ON HOLD
1. Prelude: The Creature Above

**Hide and Seek**

**Prelude: **

**The Creature Above**

The cruel sun was high in the sky outside, and its warmth penetrated even a falling figure.

Golden eyes opened to see the world at her feet, hammering towards her. Beneath her, a rolling carpet of dark-green was all she could see. The wind temporarily blinded her from what was going on. For a moment, she wondered where she was. What was happening to her?

That was when she realised one thing: She was falling.

The girl screamed as the massive acceleration woke her up. Her mysterious fall made her whole body shudder and blew her hair flat against her skull. She squeezed her eyes tight shut and when she opened them again, she was still sky-borne. For the falling victim, the world was a deafening whirlpool of confusion. The girl raced downwards, howling and spinning as she tried to figure out what to do quickly. The world blurred and spun sickening around her. Battling through the resistance of the harsh wind, she searched with her hands for something to stop her fall. Her hands slapped against her body, she found several mistakes about her appearance, but what caught her attention was the massive backpack. She never had it last time she remembered, but she thought instantly it was a parachute. There was a large, strange symbol on her chest, made of crimson glass. Quickly, she punched the symbol, hoping something good would come out of it. It began to shriek, bleeping in a synchronised pattern. The girl cried out in growing horror as she clung onto the last threads of hope. The end of her life was nearing. Continuously, she punched the symbol, hoping the parachute would save her.

Suddenly, she felt a violent yank from above followed closely by a sharp explosion. Quickly, she was shaded by a dim-yellow awning of the parachute and she was swung upwards, catapulted side to side.

But it was too late.

She screamed once again, her eyes grew cold with fear and suddenly, she was absorbed by the thick forestry. She crashed into the dense branches and tossed and turned as branches snapped, unable to catch her. Her body slapped heavily to the canopy of branches. The girl had time for a small gasp of horror before she collapsed. There was a heartbeat's silence…and then the entire world blew apart, scattering branches and ripping leaves, sending them spinning lazily through the thick, hot air. The wildlife that lived in the trees chattered in panic, whirling around the upper reaches of the leafy canopy; but the assault on their home was soon over and the forest quieted itself again.

The last thing she felt was the ground swallowing her as she fell…

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Hello ya'll, it's Salverto. This is my first Predator Fanfiction, so please let me off. I generally fail at life anyway. Heh. Alright, things will start to make more sense. I was deeply inspired by 'Predators', but also this is a small story to another Alien VS Predator Fanfiction called 'Beware the Blade'. I hope you guys enjoy this. :3 I won't jabber on, I'll just get on with it.<em>


	2. Chapter 1: The Start of the End

**Hide and Seek **

**Chapter 1: The Start of the End**

A scramble of dirt, unseen and barely heard.

For a long moment, nothing could be seen but a haze of sawdust, and gently drifting particles of dirt and leaves as they settled in the aftermath. The girl's body lay in the midst of circle of towering trees, her black locks in disarray. Then her eyes snapped opened. She inhaled loudly, as if she had just burst from the surface of deep water.

For a long minute, she was conscious of nothing but aching bone-tiredness. The hammering fall had drained every ounce of energy from her body. Feebly, she tried to raise herself off the ground; but her arms trembled from the surprise of her arrival and betrayed her, and she slumped back, her cheek in the dirt.

_Where am I? What's going on? How did I get here? I'm supposed to be…_

Those questions ran through her mind crazily, bustling like a crowded street. She stared at the forest floor, disorientated.

The girl got up from the ground unsteadily and inhaled deeply, breathing gradually. She rolled her head back, eyes closed softly, and then she opened them again, bursting into the new world.

She has landed in a thick jungle, surrounded by countless tall, smooth trunks of trees. The sun cut through the canopy of flat oval leaves in broken bursts, dazzling her for a second and then disappearing. High overhead, fist-sized fruit hung in groups of three within their leafy pods, triplets of juicy purple ripening in the scorching sun.

Sweat ran from her hairline down her forehead and neck. She blinked it away, squinting as a salty bead stung her eyes, then ran her hand through her black hair. Wait-!

She remembered that she looked different. She gazed down at her hand to realise that they were now decorated with sharp black claws, _real_ claws. On her right arm was a metallic object that clung firmly around her arm. It seemed to be shielded with a lid, but she didn't want to fondle with it just yet. She observed her body. She wore the same blue camouflaged pants as she remembered. They were still ripped at one knee-cap, stained with dirt. Her boots were caked with dried chunks of soil. What surprised her was her t-shirt. She was still wearing her black sleeve-less shirt, and a large circular rip was in the centre of her shirt as if someone had stabbed her, yet her stomach was untouched. She frowned. It doesn't make sense. The last thing she remembered was…

A long black wire swung under her face and she jolted back, then she felt foolish to realise it was her. Her hair has transformed. For years, she had long straight brunette hair. Now, her hair was the darkest black, like raven down, and was wore in several long locks, held in some sort of wrought-golden bangles, and they clipped around her hair. It seemed to look like some sort of futuristic dreadlocks.

That worried her. It was as if she was someone else, or something completely different.

Well, she had bigger problems than her appearance. She was the same person as she last remembered. She remembered her name, age, date of birth, everything! She just didn't know where she was. Or why she was here…

Circling around, sliding past the narrow, willowy waists of the trees, she trod lightly through the forest, planning her journey of leaving this jungle.

Then, she heard a low hiss and a rumble. Her breathing stilled to almost nothing. She looked around frantically, but the forest was as calm and sunny as it had ever been. So why could she sense something dangerous?

Then she felt someone standing behind her. She inhaled sharply-

"Stop right there!" came a voice from behind her. The girl frowned; hearing a sharp _click_ of a gun and as she slowly looked over her shoulder to see another creature.

It was another girl about twenty-one years old, standing behind her with a long rifle trembling in her arms, pointing directly at her. The stranger had small, pretty features, and wide turquoise eyes heavily shaded with some sort of purple eye-shadow. Piercings dangled from her ears on both sides, her lips heavily glossed with pink grease-like substances. Her hair a bright pink shade, short and tangled, as if she hasn't brushed it in days. But she knew it was common of young girls to back-comb their hair to give it more 'fluff'. She always thought it was stupid. From the way this pink-haired girl looked, in her dark-blue jeans and flimsy white shirt, she knew she had no idea what she was doing. She was inexperienced with guns. The girl was no criminal. She had never committed an offence against anyone, so she certainly knew it wasn't the police. Her golden eyes cruelly fixed onto the rifle and then back to the new stranger. She took a step towards the girl, but she screamed and shook the rifle. "Don't come any closer!" Her voice was dense with a northern accent. "I know how to use this thing!"

"Not really," The girl spoke finally, her voice a deep, cold tone. "You have no idea."

"How dare yea' say that to me, dude!" The pink-haired girl fumed. She aimed the gun at her. "I'll shoot."

"You can't. The gun's locked."

The pink-haired girl blinked, confused.

"The gun has a lock?" She stuttered, looking at the gun. The girl watched her search the gun and instantly got bored. She shook her head, rolling her eyes and began to walk away, not really bothered with her anymore. Seeing her stalking off, the pink-hair girl looked up. "W-Wait! Where are yea' going?"

The girl stopped. After a few seconds, she glanced over her shoulder.

"Home." Came the reply. The pink-haired girl blinked, utterly confused with the stranger. From the look of her sharp, golden eyes, she wasn't human. Her lips twisted in a wry smile.

"Oh, sorry sister!" The pink-haired girl hissed sarcastically, ending her sentence with a snort of laughter. The girl ignored her. "B-But how?" The pink-haired girl jogged towards her, following her. The girl didn't turn back.

"I don't know, but I'm leaving this dump." She muttered, her legs brushing past wildly brunches of leaves as they weaved in and out of the trees.

"H-How…" The pink-haired girl muttered, shifting the heavy gun from side-to-side. "How did yea' get here in the first place?"

The girl stopped, her head bowed suddenly and shook.

"I'm unsure…I only remember some things…"

"Yea' fell out of the sky too, didn't yea'?" The pink-haired girl persisted, from where she lounging against the tree trunk.

"Yes."

"God, yea' don't talk much, do yea'?" She beamed cynically.

The dark-haired girl glared up at the spoilt young woman before her. Her life and the pink-haired girl's life were certainly different, she knew that for sure. From what she can see, she had everything. Daddy's little girl. Thinks that the world was her on. Obviously the type of girl she hated.

The dark girl turned away, glaring hotly at the branches.

"I don't talk to strangers," She muttered. "I don't trust anyone…not anymore…"

"Excuse me sister-!"

"I'm not your sister, alright?" The dark girl snapped angrily. "You're the fucking idiot who can't even work out that gun!" She pointed at the rifle.

"Well, I don't think I should trust yea' anyway myself!" The pink-haired girl hissed. "Yea' have an unusual eye colour, and your hair is fucked-up. Yea' even got strange device of your arm!"

"Well, all of this is news to me too, you know," The dark girl replied lowly. "My appearance is different. I used to have dark brown hair, and my eyes were blue." The pink-haired girl lapsed in silence. "For some fucked-up reason, I'm thrown into this fucking jungle with a new appearance!" The dark girl snarled under her breath and looked away, her eyes scanning across the never-ending landscapes of forestry. They said nothing for a long while, and then finally the pink-haired girl spoke.

"Well, if we're gonna have to work together, my name is Abbey-Lee," The dark girl turned to her. "What's your name?"

The dark girl stared at her numbly, wondering whether she should tell the stranger her name. One thing for sure, she didn't want to team up with her. It'll just drive her mental. And she wasn't in the right frame of mind to put up with a childish spoilt brat like herself. She opened her mouth to snap a sharp comment back, but a yell cut them off.

The dark girl and Abbey looked up to see a tall man behind bamboo floristry, his hair short, prickly and ginger; his narrow eyes gazed at the girls. They realised he was a prisoner, wearing bright orange overalls that seemed to blend in with his hair. His dark eyes snapped to and fro to the girls and in his hand was a knife. Abbey looked terrified, but the dark-haired girl was unmoved.

"Alright! What's the fucking game?" He growled, his eyes demented.

"What game?" Abbey cried out.

"I woke up here, and you two bitches are here!" The ginger male snarled, pointing his knife at them. "What's going on?"

"Stop acting like an arse!" Abbey snapped, pointing her still-locked gun at the stranger. "Who are you?"

"The name's Adam…"

"Listen Adam, we're stuck here too. Just like you. We're confused. Just like you." The dark-haired girl replied lowly. "Let me guess…you fell down here?"

His eyes widened, surprised and nodded once, slowly lowering his knife down. He blinked a few times and then swallowed hard; his large Adam's apple shuddered in his throat.

"Y-Yes…"

"The same happened to us…" Her golden-eyes hardened and Adam stared at her outlandish eyes.

"So we're not the only ones…" Another voice called out. Adam, Abbey and the dark-haired girl turned around to the source of the voice. They were surprised to see two more figures emerging through the dark-green bushes, wearing mechanic overalls. One man was tall, his hair short and mousy-brown while his companion was small, stubby, his hair dark and his eyes watery-blue. Adam grinned.

"Great, more asses,"

The dark-haired girl groaned and stepped towards the two men.

"Forget him-Did you guys fall here too?"

"Yes," Said a smaller man, his voice a deep bass tone. He was wearing oil-stained overalls in the shade of dark-blue. He leaned close, his eyes squinting as he observed her irises closely. "What the fuck has happened to your eyes?"

"None of your business!"

"They're wicked, man," The taller man piped up, amazed too. His overalls were a hard green-blue colour, also painted with oil. Abbey frowned and stepped forward. The two men turned to her.

"Who are yea'?" Abbey demanded, her voice trying to portray toughness and failed. The taller man snickered.

"Your gun is locked," He smirked. Abbey punched his arm feebly.

"S-Shut up! What are yea' names?" Abbey stuttered, as if she was having trouble taking the comment in.

"Oliver," The taller male replied, smirking mockingly at her. All eyes turned to the stubby male and he beamed a cocky smirk.

"I'm Jack." The smaller male offered in a thick voice.

"Hello Jack. Hello Oliver," Abbey greeted.

The dark girl nodded once, taking in all of the strangers' names. The huddle of lost people stood closely together, gazing around the atmosphere. They stood in the sun-dappled ground under the canopy of the trees.

"So, now what do we do?" Jack murmured at a length. No one answered him. They were just as clueless as he was.

"I just don't understand why we're here…" Oliver said thickly.

"I think we were chosen…" All eyes adverted to the dark-haired girl. Her head was hung, gazing down at her feet. Then she looked up at the sky again, as if she could see through the branches of the trees, seeing the flat oval leaves of the trees and the spiky green-and-red shivers of the vegetation in the trees.

"Chosen…?" Oliver repeated. The dark-girl nodded gravely.

"Everyone, what was the last thing you remembered? Before landing here?"

Silently, everyone exchanged glances, hoping someone would speak up first.

"Well, all I can remember was that I was living with my mum and dad. We had this big argument, and all I asked for was some money ." Abbey spoke loudly, as if she admitted something she was proud of.

"How much?" Jack grinned, curious. Abbey frowned.

"That's none of your business. Besides, it was only enough to buy this sweet car! A pink Jaguar!"

"That would have cost you a couple of grand." Oliver said. "Is it the new one?"

"Why yes."

"That's bullshit." The dark-haired girl hissed. She turned to Abbey suddenly and pointed at her. "Why the hell do you have a gun then? Why would you need a gun?" Abbey stared at her, and found it hard to speak at first. But the dark girl spoke for her. "You remember that Alien invasion, right?"

Everyone stalled in silences. So, they weren't dreaming. That terrifying night when those Aliens invaded Cotrico City. That was the last thing they remembered.

"Fine…fine…"Abbey groaned. "I fainted during the invasion at my place."

"I…umm…I was in death-row when the invasion happened." Adam murmured darkly. "That's all I can remember."

"We were hiding in our Car Workshop." Jack mentioned, indicating him and Oliver with his hand. "Something crushed the car we were working on, and the lights blew up. Then we saw nothing but darkness. The next moment we were stuck here!"

"That's true," Oliver supported.

"What about you?" Adam hissed, pointing his knife at the dark girl. "Who are you? You never mentioned your name."

"I'm called Rina, Larina Schwarzenegger." The dark girl replied slowly.

"Larina Schwarzenegger? What kind of a name is that? Italian?" Adam smirked.

"Romanian. And part Austrian-American." Rina replied.

Abbey grinned.

"Wow. Is Arnold Schwarzenegger your dad?" No reply. Rina seemed too busy looking for an escape route. Again, Abbey thought of another quick joke. "Hey, Romanian's where Transylvania is, isn't it? Know any vampires?"

"No," Rina muttered. "Do you?"

"No sense of humour." Abbey sighed under her breath and Rina caught it.

"I'm perfectly sorry that I don't have a sense of humour, but I have my life to think about rather than joking around," A slow hiss escaped Rina's lips. Abbey glanced at her in surprise. For the first time, Abbey noticed the weird yellowish colour of Rina's eyes and she shivered. A chill blast seemed to have hit the back of her neck. She glanced around the jungle. Strange. The jungle was as hot as ever.

"So, how did you get here Rina?" Jack asked, suddenly curious that Rina had unusual features. They looked inhuman.

"The last thing that I remember…" Rina paused, then she carried on. "The last thing that I remember was that I died…"

Everyone's eyes widened in horror. She died? How could that work? Why was she here now, breathing and standing? It didn't make any sense.

In the silent midst, a soft bleeping noise emitted. It was coming from the strange device that clung onto Rina's right arm. She looked at it and blinked, unsure what it was doing.

"What's with the new watch?" Oliver asked. Rina shrugged.

"I don't know…it was here on my arm when I landed. But I have never seen it before…" Slowly, she placed a black claw on a small grey button and the lid flipped upwards, startling Rina. Abbey, Adam, Oliver and Jack huddled over her to see what it was. There was a combination of buttons, holding strange symbols, similar to the parachutes. There was a thick line that ran across the bottom of the device. Curiously, Rina placed her claw on it and scrapped it from one side to another. That made the bleeping stopped. They said nothing for a while, until Abbey spun around and glared at Rina.

"You're something else, aren't yea'?" She snapped.

Rina calmly closed the case down and turned her golden eyes onto Abbey. Her eyes hardened.

"Maybe…but it's fucking better than being human…" She hissed. She turned on her heels and stalked off into the forest. "Let's go…if you want to find a way out of here…"

Wordlessly, Oliver rubbed the back of his neck and turned to Jack. He shrugged and began to follow Rina. Oliver followed after him. Adam and Abbey exchanged glances and then they soon followed them.

They didn't realise that a pair of unseen eyes were watching them the whole time.


	3. Chapter 2: A Deadman's Trap

**Hide and Seek**

**Chapter 2: A Dead-Man's Trap**

Abbey glared at the back of Rina, her face a mixture of anger, childish defiance and fear. But Rina continued to walk on, her mind elsewhere.

Adam, Oliver, Jack and Abbey ambled alongside Rina, feeling the burning sun through the impenetrable leaf canopy on their faces, hearing the chattering of the forest as if for the first time, watching the soft stirring of the thin khaki leaves of the masses of trees. Their feet crushed broken twigs as they walked through the never-ending jungle. Rina was determined to find a way out.

"So, where the fuck are we going?" Adam groaned, when he could bear the silence no longer. Their only sounds since walking through the jungle had been snapping of twigs and the heavy sighs.

"To high grounds," Rina replied without looking back. "We should be able to find some sort of direction when we're out of this jungle."

"Ooh, okay boss!" Abbey hissed sarcastically. Rina frowned at the remark, but said nothing.

"Have you ever been lost in the jungle before?" Oliver asked. "It seems as if you have experience,"

"I do," Rina softly said. "I've been in the Army,"

"Heh, so much for saving lives in that alien invasion, Harry Potter," Abbey scoffed. Finally, Rina spun around and quickly paced towards Abbey, snatching her neck with one hand and squeezed tightly, her face suddenly suffused with rage. The men grinned to see the fiery ladies. Though the question of why Abbey called her 'Harry Potter' appeared, Rina paid no attention to it. She was too angry in such a short amount of time.

"Listen, Pinkie, while you were most likely sitting on your ass complaining about your parents, I was out there fucking protecting my sisters!" Rina growled, and her voice had taken on an edge of menace. She seemed to loom over her. "That's how I died! Those aliens wanted my fucking little sister. I protected her, along with my older sister!" She paused, and then her dark eyes dropped to the rifle Abbey was holding. In one swift movement, she snatched the gun off her. Abbey said nothing, nor did she retaliate. "Now I don't know about you, but your life is fucking paradise compared to what I went through! But if I ever hear you _dare _to imply that I have done nothing when you have no fucking clue about me, I might just forget my sanity long enough to thrash you senseless!" Her brows darkened. "It would be fun to hear you fucking scream!" The harshness of her words shocked Abbey into silence, and she looked at her feet, ashamed. At the same moment, they heard rustling of tall grass and bushes. Abbey's eyes adverted around at the source of the noise, but Rina gave her one last threatening look before she threw her back, making her stumble backwards and collapse onto her buttocks. Abbey gasped to feel the surprising force. "Let's just keep going," Rina muttered.

"What about weapons?" Oliver asked, grabbing Rina's arm. "Me and Jack haven't got any,"

"If all goes well, you won't need weapons," Rina said, her eyes restless. "Have this," She handed the rifle to Jack. He blinked at her and she smirked. "I know you can handle it better than Pinkie,"

Abbey snarled, trying to be threatening, but Rina ignored her. That was when a piercing scream cut them dead. There were more people here? Suddenly alert, Rina ran towards the source of the scream. The others followed her, curious about the rustling and the sudden scream.

"Help me! Shit! Somebody help!"

The scream became worse and worse. That started to panic them. Rina sprinted speedily, leaping over fallen tree trunks. Adam followed easily, but Abbey was having a hard time catching up without destroying her new jeans.

"We're coming, we're coming!" Oliver bellowed, his protective side burst alive. They soon reached a clearing, and two males were running down the wild path towards them. They slowed down as the new arrivals ran towards them, still screaming. Rina cocked a brow, wondering why they were screaming, then they heard thunderous thuds of footsteps, as if a herd of Bulls were charging towards them. They all froze.

As they watched in horror, a bulking four-legged creature was charging towards them, chasing after the two men. The creature's body was a pale-grey shade, with a similar texture from a Rhino, the pattern looking like cracked dried mud. Each foot decorated with five, six-inch white claws. Several long, jagged spikes ran on its curvy back. More spikes mounted on his face, pointing sharply towards them. It revealed its monstrous teeth and snarled against the rush of wind. Its face looked like something from unbearable nightmares. Skull-like, its eyes were nothing more than black-red holes. It stared angrily at its enemies. Rina's blood ran cold. Abbey screamed piercingly, her voice carried out through the jungle. The men hurried quickly towards the cluster of strangers.

"What the fuck is that thing?" Abby screamed, tears of fright in her eyes.

"We don't fucking know! They were here chasing after us" One of the men cried out. He looked Japanese from his facial features.

"Do fucking something!" The other man yelled. He had long blond hair, gelled up into some sort of wild flame on his head, but it was drenched by sweat from running.

"Holy shit! It's a fucking beast from hell!" Adam yelled, fear growing in his eyes. Abbey screamed again, her hands waving about in her face.

"Do something Jack!" Oliver cried out, seeing that he had a gun. Adam growled under his breath, swinging his blade towards the advancing beast.

"Be careful Adam!" Jack gasped. "That thing has spikes!" He unlocked the rifle and aimed at the beast. With a sudden yell, he blasted one bullet at it. It simply shook for a bit before moving towards them again.

"Run!" The Japanese man shouted. Instantly, the group shattered on his command, each one of them running down the forest, diving between trees and leaping over bushes. Abbey screamed continuously, hurrying towards a tree and tried to climb up, only to fail. The Japanese man and blond man dived into two directions, disappearing in the forest. Adam ran into a towering bush. Oliver stood by Jack though, who was trying to shoot another round at the beast. It seemed useless. Rina turned around and gasped to see them two backing away.

"What are they _doing_?" Her jaw tightened, she turned on her heels and ran towards them. "Guys! Run! Guns will do nothing!" Rina screamed, pushing Jack and Oliver away. They soon ran with her. Rina gritted her teeth, sweat breaking on her brow and running into her black locks.

"Ah shit!" Jack cried involuntarily, skidding to a halt. That made Oliver and Rina jump. They forced themselves to stop too. Before them jumped another beast and it stalled before them. They exchanged hardened glares at the creature. It snarled under its breath, and then snapping its teeth it began to advance towards them slowly. Oliver, Jack and Rina gradually stepped backwards, their eyes never leaving the creature.

The beast snarled again, shaking its horned-head violently.

Then, from out of nowhere, the hissing of passing wind was emitted in the jungle and suddenly something impaled itself into the ground between the beast and Rina. Oliver, Jack and Rina blinked. The beast was also startled. Between them was a long pole. The tip pointed sharply, it was tied and decorated with a brown-skinned tape that coiled around the staff. In the centre of the staff, near the light grey metallic handle was a small skull, impaled by the staff itself. The ends of the trimmings stuck out, flaring out like a new feathers. Oliver and Jack gazed around wildly, their eyes crazy with wonder. The staff was thrown by someone, and yet they saw no one. It was as if there was an invisible force who has thrown the staff for them.

"What the fuck?" Oliver hissed. Rina's eyes were fixed onto the staff. Somehow, it was placed in front of her, as if it has chosen her. She gritted her teeth; her eyes closed and sighed deeply. Slowly, the world darkened around her, all screams and cries faded into nothing and the only noise that surrounded her was a series of sweet, sickly clicks followed by a low growl.

_~Go…take the staff, little one…~_

A voice! Some sort of distorted voice spoke to her. It spoke in broken English. Before she could comprehend what happened, the world lightened up around her and she found herself being shaken roughly by Oliver. She saw blurring images of Adam and Abbey, who were by their sides now along with the strangers. Adam pointed his knife at the beast.

"Rina! Fucking wake up!" Oliver's voice cut through her vision and she blinked, seeing the beast advancing closer. Her eyes stared at the beast, and then she snarled angrily under her breath. That voice was something that wasn't human. But it encouraged her. She felt a cold, cold fire suddenly ignited inside of her. Once her eyes fixed sharply onto the staff, she knew what to do.

They saw the veins standing out at the base of her neck, taut with the effort. They all watched her shift hands, so that they were no longer relaxed. Instead, she gripped onto the staff slowly, her knuckles bleaching as her grip tightened. When she felt a breathless lift in her chest, she yanked the staff from the ground and growled lowly. The beast stopped and stared at her, as if reconsidering whether or not to kill its prey. For a long while, nothing happened. And then it radiated an almighty roar, bellowing at its enemies before turning around and running off. The beast disappeared into the wilderness of the jungle. That made them all stalled into silence, wondering why the beast rushed away. Then, the blond-haired man burst out laughing.

"Hey, you scared it!" He said loudly to Rina. Just as he was cheering, they heard several more thunderous thuds behind them. In unison, they all turned around and gazed in mounting distress to see two more of the beasts, this time, they were marching towards them quicker, their skin smeared with dark-red paint. No-It was Blood! The creatures walked towards them threateningly, like lions cornering its prey. Rina gripped onto the staff tighter.

A shriek of frustration and anger escaped past her lips, and they ran on, paying no more attention to the beasts. The three beasts behind them charged, their powerful feet pounding against the earth. Adam ran with them, and soon they all clustered back together, following Rina. The group hustled through the thick, towering bushes, hoping to lose the beast. It never did.

Abbey screamed again, and Adam yelled back at her, finally telling her to shut up. Jack and Oliver panted wildly as they sprinted along with the blond man and Japanese man. Rina's mind was crammed with thoughts, realising that they must be tested. Then Rina's eyes widened to feel no earth under her feet. She screamed in shock, and found herself diving through mid-air, falling down a steep hill. She felt her body crashed hard against the forest flooring and began to roll quickly, and didn't stop. Oliver and Jack soon followed, and then the strangers dived down too. Adam roared in dismay and Abbey screamed again, rolling down. Rina tried to stop herself, and found that she couldn't. The forces of the earth were cruel, and soon her chest trembled to realise that she was falling down again. The roaring of the great waterfall could be heard amongst the screams.

Together, they rolled down the remaining distance, surrounded by the clashing of leaves and branches and the cries of the humans, and one-by-one they plunged into the cold rushing waters of the waterfall. Soon, the world around them suddenly dissolved into the murky, cold realm of the lake, crowned with the white, thick mist from the waterfall.

It was a few moments later until Rina's head burst out of the surface of the water, feeling her legs kicking wildly underneath her. Coughing up hot water, she spluttered against the rippling surface. Closely, Adam, the two strangers and Oliver followed. Jack and Abbey burst out from the surface after them, crying out in horror. Rina gazed around, looking for land to swim to. When she found a small alcove beyond the waterfall, she swam towards it as quickly as possible.

When they reached onto the small cavern of the waterfall, they rested on the sandy bank under the shady alcove. Abbey hurried towards Rina, who sat on the white sand taking deep, slow breaths. Her eyes fixed onto her new weapon, fascinated with it.

"Alright Rina, something is happening!" Abbey said. Rina wiped the water droplets that rolled down her forehead and looked up at her coldly.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Rina replied lowly, looking up.

"I saw what happened between you and that beast!" Abbey snarled, pointing an accusing finger at Rina. "That beast didn't even leave a scratch on you! It ran away from you the instant you grabbed that pole!" Her finger moved towards the wooden staff that Rina was holding closely to her. Adam looked in amazement at Rina. The others were no less taken aback. He still couldn't get used to the radical difference in Rina. No one could really. She was anything but human. But with that aside, he agreed with her sentiments. Everyone was confused, and afraid, and didn't know who to trust; and they couldn't begin to get their feet back under them until they had solid ground to stand on. Before they could even start to get over the tragedies they were experiencing, they needed stability. And they needed answers.

But Rina needed answers too…

"I heard a voice…someone…something told me to take the staff…"

Adam looked at her in stunned amazement, and then burst out laughing.

"A voice?" He blurted out. "You're just a crazy bitch!"

"Better than being a foolish Ass-Wipe who's in prison!" Rina hissed sharply back. The harsh comment made Adam sulk in silence.

"Guys, leave Rina alone," Jack breathed.

Abbey ignored him and then leaned towards Rina.

"So tell us, are you human?"

"Last time I checked…yeah…" Rina smirked sarcastically. "What's your problem?"

"I'll tell you what my problem is. You're not one of us. I can tell! Those…things that were going to kill us didn't touch you. I wonder why. Do you know?"

"I know as little as you do," Rina snapped in a low voice. "I don't understand why you must stab at me when you can, but I'm too busy trying to survive. Ask questions later, _when_ I have answers!" Rina's eyes moved to everyone, who remained silent. "The last thing I remember was that I died saving my family! I was impaled through the gut by the Alien's tail." As if to prove herself, she picked up the torn rags of her black shirt where a large ripped hole was. "My eyes and hair have changed! I'm in a jungle with fucked-up creatures and strangers. I'm having enough trouble putting up with you anyway as well as trying to answer impossible questions myself. Consider others rather than yourself for once." Abbey fell silent, her arms folded, a scowl marring her face. Rina paused, and then after a deep breath she added darkly: "You want to follow me? Go for it. If not, you're on your own. I don't remember being elected to be the leader."

"Those creatures know you! Is this your home-planet or something?" Abbey was getting frustrated now. So was Rina, but she cleverly hid it.

"Perhaps," She replied softly, her eyes adverted back to the staff, admiring it.

"What are you?" Abbey hissed, trying to gouge answers from her. Rina ignored her and looked up to the trembling blond-haired stranger.

"Well, introduce yourselves," Rina said slowly, her eyes moving from the blond male to the Japanese man. The Japanese man spoke first. He had sagacious eyes with grey-coloured irises swimming in a sea of white. His hair, Rina observed numbly, was a beautiful shade of black, tied up in a single ponytail.

"My name is Tochaa," he spoke softly, his accent clear with a tint of foreign wonder. The blond man spoke after, strongly contrasting against his companion.

"The name's Rhodri," He replied loudly in an irritating tone. His voice hinting on how annoying this male was going to be, Rina realised. She tried hard to stop her frown from appearing.

"So, do you guys know each other?" Oliver asked. Tochaa smiled softly and waved his hand, indicating a negative.

"Oh no, no, no. We were much like you. We happened to have bumped into each other. We were hoping to find more of us out here." Adam heaved himself onto a large rock that was half-sunk in the sand.

"Welcome to the group of fail," Adam hissed, pulling out his blade as he sat down, observing the sharpness of it. Oliver cast a hot glare at him.

"If your group failed, sir, then you'd be dead," Tochaa commented sharply. Rina smirked. She liked this guy already. "So, how did you guys appear here?" He turned to Rina. "I understand, Larina that you died. You were in combat. Am I correct?"

Rina gave a single nod.

"I was fighting with an alien…I saw blood and smoke in the night. And the pain was unbearable I couldn't think straight. Then…I saw a bright light. And, as if I was asleep, the pain was gone and I was-"

"Falling." Tochaa finished her sentence. Rina nodded again and smiled lightly back to him.

"I was in combat too…the same happened with me," Rhodri added. Tochaa's ash-grey moved to Adam.

"What about you?"

"I was in prison," Adam said, not looking at anyone. He was too busy looking at his knife. "I was going to be executed in a week's time."

"I was fighting too," Abbey commented with some heat. No one paid particular attention to her.

"Jack and I were working when those bastards invaded our workshop," Oliver added.

"I was also in combat," Tochaa mentioned, fishing his hand into his pocket, pulling out a silvery gun.

For a while, no one spoke after that, trying to take in the masses of detail. Rina's eyes fixed onto the staff she held tightly, leaning on it.

"S-So…those creatures that chased us through the forest. What the _hell_ were those things?" Oliver asked.

"I do not know," Tochaa replied softly, running his fingers through the sands.

"This place is a graveyard," Jack commented to nobody.

"No…this is hell!" Adam cried out.

"Since when did you need a parachute to get here?" Tochaa muttered, his eyes scanning.

"Then, how the hell can we get off this planet?" Rhodri questioned, hoping someone would answer him.

"If someone put us on this fucking rock, then we can get off it," Adam grilled hotly.

"What the fuck is going on?" Abbey asked desperately. Rina frowned at the many questions being fired aimlessly.

"We're being hunted!" Rina managed to yell over the voices. All faces went blank and they stared at Rina. When everyone was silent, Rina saw this as her chance to explain her opinion. "Listen," Rina said. "We could be dead for all we know. All of us. But one thing for sure…Someone caught us, dropped us off here on another planet, far away from home…They sent in the hounds on us, just like what we would do if someone passed our territory. I won't be surprised if they have laid traps for us…This is their jungle. Their game and it's their fucking rules. They have put us in a situation where we can do nothing but play by their rules." No one said anything. Rina continued. "Don't you guys get it? We're killers…we're fighters…it's true that the Human-Race is the most deadly race out there…but what if there is something else far worse than humans? This could be the game they want to play with us. We don't know who we're facing against…but I bet they're far more deadly than humans will _ever _be…" Rina hung her head. "Come sundown…we'd be in a dead-man's trap. We have to find somewhere, we need to find out who these…'Predators' are."

"So, we're stuck on this stupid planet with no food, no decent weapons and we're miles away from home? There's _nowhere_ we can go. We can't even lie low for a while. I _hate_ this!" Abbey cried out.

"That's the test…" Tochaa uttered. "We're being tested,"

"Or at least _one_ of us," Abbey added, her wide, bright eyes travelled from Tochaa to Rina. Rina frowned darkly.

"Don't bother pin-pointing all of your problems on me. I have done nothing to you. Why not make yourself useful and leave me alone, woman?"

Oliver laid an arm on Rina's shoulder. Rina sighed heavily and moved away from the comforting arm, walking towards the edge of the sandbank, her eyes looking out to the beautiful lake before them. "The sun hasn't moved…" Rina observed numbly. Everyone gazed up to realise that it was true. Ever since they landed here, the sun was always facing east.

For a long while, they rested on the sands, too afraid of what might jump in their way. Some were mourning at their situation, others were chatting silently amongst themselves and Rina stood alone by the edge of the sand. She thought deeply about what was happening, what could happen to her. Rina bit her lip to try and stop the hot, hurt tears from coming. Alone, Rina stood on the sun-dappled sand under the alcove. Gingerly, her hand lifted towards a strand of her black dreadlock and looked at it. Her eyes widened. It felt like thick rubber, with a thin texture of hair. The metallic bangles that cuffed around all of her locks were firmly clamped on. She felt the muscles of her eyes ache, but no more. Then she thought about why everyone hated her. She looks nothing like herself back on earth, so why does it seem as if she is the only one who has changed appearance. Not to mention, her personally is much more hostile, more aggressive. She couldn't understand. In a stroke, her life had been swept away into some sort of plaything for someone out there. Her sisters, Kate and Tracey, her friends, her _home_…all had gone. She had been cut away from everything she knew, and thrown out into an unknown world with no direction, no purpose, and no understanding of what awaited her.

She wished it all back, as if wishing hard enough could have made it so.

It seemed like a long time she stood there, thinking the same things over and over, letting her grief and rage seep reluctantly out of her.

Harry Potter…why the hell did Abbey even called her that anyway? Harry Potter was only famous for his Wizardry and his scar…

Curiously, Rina dropped onto her knees, feeling her body sinking into the warmth of the fresh sand and slowly leaned forward towards the lake, using its surface as a mirror. When she was staring back at her face, her blood ran cold. On her forehead, she saw something. There were two clean white marks on her forehead, in a form of some sort of curved seven.

A scar.

Her eyes widened. She has never seen that scar before. She placed her finger over it, running the tip over the noticeable marking of the scar on her forehead. Where the hell did she ever get a scar like that? Why were things happening to her, and it seemed as if it was only her that was taking the blame for this problem? Just because she was different…

She hung her head. She didn't understand any of it. She was deep in her sorrow when she became aware of Jack speaking.

"Are we the only ones here then?" Jack asked silently. Tochaa stepped forward towards the huddle.

"Rhodri and I saw a camp nearby…but…it's not pleasant…" Tochaa said calmly. Rina's attention grew and she turned around and looked at Tochaa.

"Meaning…?" Adam muttered. Tochaa hung his head, and then his eyes adverted towards Rina. They looked at each other; Tochaa's eyes were soft and sympathetic, but Rina hid the pain and her eyes turned back glacial, and revealed nothing.

"Larina, when we went onto that camping site…from the look of your hair and eyes, I think we found a relative of yours…" All eyes turned to Rina to see her reaction.

Rina tilted her head in acknowledgement.


End file.
